Issue 80 - The view from the top

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The view from the top

More than 30 enthusiasts, including some distillery managers, made their way to the summit of Ben Rinnes recently.

The group were there for the unveiling of a toposcope, or orientation plaque, which indicates the location of Speyside's' distilleries, many of which can be seen from the summit.

The brass toposcope, engraved with the names of the distilleries, the neighbouring towns and prominent features in the landscape including the River Spey sits unobtrusively on top of the now redundant trig point which belongs to the Ordnance Survey which gave its permission for it to be used in this way.

“It was overwhelming to see finally what started as a crazy idea, hatched on this summit years ago, become a physical reality” said Dave Broom.

“Now all walkers on the Ben can see why this is truly Scotland's whisky mountain and the nexus point of Speyside.

Standing on that wind-blasted summit where streams of whisky were flying horizontally in the air we could see in every direction evidence of whisky making: distilleries, cooperages, dark grain plants, fields of barley, peat moors and the houses of the people of Speyside who for generations have dedicated their lives to the creation of our national spirit.”, The costs of the project were supported by the income from the tastings which Dave conducted afterwards at the Benrinnes Distillery and by contributions made by the walkers themselves.